TORONTO (Ticker) -- Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues spent most of
their careers with the Charlotte Hornets. Now members of the
Toronto Raptors, they reminded their old team of that fact.

Curry and Bogues led a big effort by the bench and Vince Carter
scored 25 points as the hot-shooting Raptors defeated the
Hornets, 109-99, for their third straight victory.

"You always want to beat the team you have a disagreement with,"
Bogues said. "The way they handled the situation when I was
there was very disrespectful, but you move on."

"The other team can say what they want, but the game is
different for those two guys," Toronto coach Butch Carter said.
"They both still have homes there and spend a lot of time
there."

Curry, an original member of the Hornets who spent 10 years with
the club, scored seven of his 14 points in a 17-4 burst that
broke open a close game in the fourth quarter. Signed as a free
agent after leading the NBA in 3-point shooting with Milwaukee
last season, Curry made 6-of-10 shots, including two 3-pointers.

Bogues, who joined the Hornets in 1988 and spent 9 1/2 seasons
with the club, had 10 points and 11 assists. He was part of a
bench corps that outscored Charlotte's reserves, 46-10.

"He was very good," Butch Carter said. "When a player spends as
long as he did with an organization, I am committed to making
sure he gets a chance to play against them. I gave both Muggsy
and Dell that chance tonight."

Vince Carter scored 25 points, including six in the
fourth-quarter run. The second-year sensation finished the game
with 1,000 career points.

"I've got a long way to go," he said. "(Utah forward) Karl
Malone has 29,000 points."

Tracy McGrady scored 14 points and Doug Christie added 13 for
the Raptors (3-1), who shot 54.5 percent (48-of-88) from the
field and have bounced back nicely from a season-opening home
loss to Boston.

"We all understand that the Boston game we let get away and that
isn't the effort we wanted to put out," Bogues said. "Each game
since, we've improved, and we need to continue with that
attitude."

"The Raptors are capable of making the playoffs," Silas said.
"They disrupt on defense, they score and they didn't use Doug
Christie much. That shows their depth."

Eddie Jones scored 26 points and David Wesley added 23 for the
Hornets (2-2), who have dropped two in a row as injuries have
exposed a thin bench.

Already without injured guards Eldridge Recasner and Ricky
Davis, Charlotte may also lose guard Baron Davis. The rookie
will have an MRI on his sore right knee on Monday.

"If it doesn't show a tear, we'll have to make a decision,"
Silas said. "He didn't look too bad tonight. If we don't have
Baron, we have to find a point guard."

A jumper by Elden Campbell, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds,
moved the Hornets within 84-81 before Carter's jumper started
the decisive burst. Carter and Curry each hit two mid-range
jumpers and a 3-pointer by Curry capped the run at 101-85 with
4:10 to play.

"Turnovers were a big key to the game," Silas said. "We were in
the game, then had two or three turnovers and had to get back
into the game. They put pressure on and we didn't handle it
well."

The Raptors took the lead for good with a 22-5 burst in the
second quarter that featured a one-handed slam by Carter off an
alley-oop pass from Bogues and McGrady's swooping three-point
play on consecutive possessions.

"I couldn't even see Muggsy," Vince Carter said. "I was just
looking in the air in that direction and there was the ball
going fast and high. It was just lucky that I caught it and put
it down."

Toronto led 50-46 at halftime and widened the advantage to 14
points before Wesley scored 12 straight points to pull Charlotte
within 68-66 with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter. Curry
and Carter made 3-pointers to push the lead to 80-75 entering
the final period.

Still missing Recasner and Davis, Charlotte's bench struggled.
Silas used only three reserves for a total of 37 minutes as
Davis scored seven points and Derrick Coleman was held to two.
Meanwhile, McGrady, Curry and Bogues combined for 38 points.

"It's hard to look at offense," Silas said. "We lose Eldridge
Recasner and Derrick Coleman's not ready yet. We have to figure
out how to use our big men more."